Christmas has been over for some time, and is far from coming again, so this blog is a bit late, but since it's really just a wintery theme, not strictly Christmas, it's not too late.
Every year around Christmas time, since as long as I can remember, my father would sit down to a certain old, black and white movie starring Jimmy Stewart. Sometimes we'd sit in and watch it with him, though I don't remember much about the story until I was ten or so, and we'd be swept by the romantic story about how Jimmy Stewart's character finds himself and discovers what's truly important in life. I'm not talking about "It's a Wonderful Life," by the way, I'm talking about "The Shop Around the Corner."
A few years ago, I was shocked to realize that not everyone had ever even heard of this movie. When it was Christmas time, people sat around and watched "Charlie Brown Christmas" (Which I admit to having only seen once in it's entirety) or "It's a Wonderful Life" (Which I have seen, but only a few times). When "You've Got Mail" came out, people went to it and saw it without even realizing that it was based on Ernst Lubitsch's classic romance. I, who had been familiarized with the story when I was young, couldn't fathom that an old movie like this, so beloved in my own household, would be so forgotten by others who claimed to love "It's a Wonderful Life" or other classics, too.
In case you've never seen or heard of "The Shop Around the Corner," it's basically a romance about two store clerks who grow to greatly dislike each other, despite the fact that, unbeknownst to either of them, they're forming a budding romance through anonymous letters. The audience, in a first time viewing, doesn't find out what's going on until Jimmy Stewart's character goes to meet his pen pal in person, and then cannot bring himself to confront the woman he finds to be frivolous and annoying in real life, but intelligent and romantic in her letters.
Nora Ephron directed a remake starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (Both of "Sleepless in Seattle" fame), which tweaked the setting and situation a bit, but kept the core storyline. Both movies are pretty good, and really romantic without losing their intelligent script and relatable characters, but I'd have to say I prefer "Shop Around the Corner." Maybe it's because I've seen it so many times, or maybe it's because, as long as you saw the original first, remakes tend to pale in comparison (If you hadn't seen the original first, then the remake can seem better). Either way, I'm still a bit put off when I make a "Shop Around the Corner" reference that no one understands (like when I suggested a friend use a jewelry box that plays music to store candy).
Netflix doesn't have "The Shop Around the Corner" available for instant streaming, but they do have DVDs if anyone has queue space open, and while your local movie-buying-supplier may not have it in store, you'll almost certainly be able to order the movie online. It's a great Christmas movie, but sinceisn't specifically about Christmas, it can be watched any time of the year. If you like "It's a Wonderful Life," you'll almost definitely love "The Shop Around the Corner."
(I don't mean to sound like a pitch salesman - I really just love this movie, and wished more people would familiarize themselves with it, too. I'm always open for lesser-known-about cool movies, too, y'know.)
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